Thought this was interesting.

Linky

how athletes can alter their mind to enhance performance? 

1. Consciously expecting to feel terrible in a race aids performance. This is because perception of effort during competition is influenced by expectations. If you feel worse than expected, your perception of effort will increase and your performance will suffer. By bracing for a hard time, however, you ensure that how you feel during the race is no worse than expected, thereby setting yourself up to get the most out of your body. 
2. Having the "wrong body" for an endurance sport—that is, having a body that is anthropometrically or physiologically not ideal—can be transformed from a disadvantage to an advantage through a phenomenon called neuroplasticity. Even if your body is non-optimal for a given sport, if you work hard, your brain gets creative and figures out the most efficient ways to move from point A to point B. The same phenomenon also explains why athletes can comeback better than ever after a major body-changing injury.  
3. “Choking” in endurance sports is caused by self-consciousness, or an excessively internal focus during races, which actually increases perception of effort. An athlete can avoid choking by releasing from their obsession with achieving a goal. Rather than focusing on a specific outcome or “not failing,” athletes should instead strive to be fully immersed in the moment and the task at hand.
4. Endurance athletes perform better when they pursue a quantified goal versus race by feel. This is because perception of effort, which athletes use to judge the highest speed they can go from their current position to the finish line, is open to interpretation. Chasing incremental time goals (think: 2 seconds per mile faster than my PR) helps athletes be more certain and confident that they can achieve their goals, which in turn convinces an athlete to accept a slightly higher level of effort. 
5. Athletes get fitter and race more successfully when they train in groups and compete for teams. One reason for this is called “behavioral synchrony,” where working together in groups releases in the brain the feel-good neurochemical dopamine which reduces perception of effort. 

It is an intriguing topic, I will delve into it a bit more. Thank you for posting it.

I have long held that for me, the key to racing success is in my head, not my body.

The difference is probably here:

Chasing incremental time goals (think: 2 seconds per mile faster than my PR) helps athletes be more certain and confident that they can achieve their goals, which in turn convinces an athlete to accept a slightly higher level of effort.

So if you pick goals that are attainable (or seem more attainable mentally), your confidence stays strong and you are less likely to choke.  (Perhaps, I don't know)

Quote from Oski 2.0 on 7/5/2015 at 5:05 PM:

 An athlete can avoid choking by releasing from their obsession with achieving a goal. 

 

Endurance athletes perform better when they pursue a quantified goal versus race by feel. 

 

The difference is probably here:

Chasing incremental time goals (think: 2 seconds per mile faster than my PR) helps athletes be more certain and confident that they can achieve their goals, which in turn convinces an athlete to accept a slightly higher level of effort.

 

So if you pick goals that are attainable (or seem more attainable mentally), your confidence stays strong and you are less likely to choke.  (Perhaps, I don't know)

I think it's more a feedback phenomenon. The athlete has a time goal in mind, but measures his perceived effort in running for that time goal, then adjusts to something that is right on the borderline of what seems to be the redline. That may be faster or slower than the pre-race goal.

Thought this was interesting.

 

Linky

 

 

how athletes can alter their mind to enhance performance? 

1. Consciously expecting to feel terrible in a race aids performance. This is because perception of effort during competition is influenced by expectations. If you feel worse than expected, your perception of effort will increase and your performance will suffer. By bracing for a hard time, however, you ensure that how you feel during the race is no worse than expected, thereby setting yourself up to get the most out of your body. 

I find this actually does work to a point.

ie:  it is very easy to cross the line from expectations of pain and discomfort to self-confidence trashing and defeated before you even start.

I have found that instead of just knowing what to expect and telling myself such, I have more success understanding that *EVERYONE* no matter their ability will feel about the same at near the same points in the race *provided* they are also racing at a similar intensity. (relative to fitness and ability)

I use that logic to help my DD and any of my other friends race.  "Know that at 2 miles in a 5k - it hurts. and it hurts the same for me, you, and the 20yo that runs a 15min 5k."

 

4.Endurance athletes perform better when they pursue a quantified goal versus race by feel. This is because perception of effort, which athletes use to judge the highest speed they can go from their current position to the finish line, is open to interpretation. Chasing incremental time goals (think: 2 seconds per mile faster than my PR) helps athletes be more certain and confident that they can achieve their goals, which in turn convinces an athlete to accept a slightly higher level of effort. 

I don't agree with this, at least for myself.   I find it far too easy to fixate on my watch and pacing if I attempt to run my quantitative goals.  When a 6:20 half marathon pace goal pops in at 6:30 or 6:40  *even* for a brief moment the mind start screaming. I'm running hard, I'm off goal, how can I run any harder.  FUCK this!...     Not good for me.

What is good is to find someone to race.  It works when I know the other racer and their ability (similar to mine).  I have found that when that occurs, the watch falls away and it is all about tactics and strategy. At the later part of the race when everything is screaming to stop, I cant slow down.

Some of the best races I have had are not PRs.  These two recent 5Ks at 74 and 77 dew-point were 54 seconds and 85 seconds off of PR but were awesome races head to head until near the end.  I wanted to stop and give up.  It sucked... I hated it in the last 1/4 mile... and yet I won. master and overall.

For me having a specific time goal works against me.  Maybe because I don't do a lot of speedwork.  When I try to go at a goal race pace (5k or 10k) during training, it always seems incredibly fast.  My brain says, "You can't do this.  It's too fast for you."  And I fight it and prove myself right.  Whereas in a race, if I just look at my watch at the end of each mile and run by effort I am always surprised that I am racing faster than I thought I could even run.  Holding on to the pace is not always possible, but I still end up with an overall time that is better than if I had stuck to the time I intended to do.

 You and I have had this conversation before.  So much of it is mental and the ability to allow yourself to suffer. :P

Agreed, and there have been a few times where I have been locked-in mentally but unable to physically run any faster because I was running at my maximum ability. Those races while somewhat frustrating are otherwise pretty fuckin awesome on the mental scale.

There have been other times where I was mentally able to push past my physical discomfort or limitations and score big, so I have been on both sides of the fence.

There is a third variable though where the littlest thing causes me to checkout mentally. This could be misplaced mile markers (indicating the course is short), a slower than desired first mile, a crappy warmup run, the sun suddenly coming out or one of a half dozen other things where I literally say fuck it and mail it in.

So for me, sometimes things that are not necessarily in my control, play a part in my ability to remain mentally focused.

For me having a specific time goal works against me.  Maybe because I don't do a lot of speedwork.  When I try to go at a goal race pace (5k or 10k) during training, it always seems incredibly fast.  My brain says, "You can't do this.  It's too fast for you."  And I fight it and prove myself right.  Whereas in a race, if I just look at my watch at the end of each mile and run by effort I am always surprised that I am racing faster than I thought I could even run.  Holding on to the pace is not always possible, but I still end up with an overall time that is better than if I had stuck to the time I intended to do.

Great post. The mind and body knows how to pace for a given distance based on one's fitness if we let it. We usually screw it up though by clock watching.